This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
This chapter is from the book
Getting Started
Teacher Planning
In order for the lesson to succeed, the teacher will need a working knowledge of the technology and resources the students will use:
- The basic functionality of Numbers, the spreadsheet application included with iWork (see Lesson 10 of Apple Training Series: iWork ’08).
- The basic functionality of Pages, the word-processing application included with iWork (see Lessons 7 and 8 of Apple Training Series: iWork ’08).
- Identify websites ahead of time that show the different expenses associated with the lesson. These should include utilities, real estate, auto, etc. Where possible, use local expenses, as national averages may not be realistic for your area of the country.
- Identify resources students can use to investigate careers and related salaries. For jobs that require advanced training, be sure to have students calculate financial loan costs.
- Ensure that the necessary hardware and software are available to the students.
- Determine the amount of time to be spent on the project. Provide guidelines for project milestones. For example, how much time the students should spend deciding on their vacation destination.
Student Preparation
Tell the students the lesson objectives in advance, so they have time to prepare.
- Give students time to explore Numbers and Pages.
- Have students think about possible career options in advance.
Cameo: Math at the Movies
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TO REALLY UNDERSTAND MATHEMATICS, Students need to understand the concepts behind the facts. Nothing reflects deep knowledge more clearly than the ability to explain it to others. Digital arts projects allow students to explain, express, and explore. And well-articulated explanations can be used from class to class, to tutor other students. Allowing a student to hear an explanation from another student can be an effective strategy that gives classwork ongoing life.
The idea of constructing an explanation of what one knows is especially relevant in geometry, an area of math that often depends on memorization. Digital arts projects offer students a new approach in which they integrate what they know in the course of making the digital film.
At Teach Elementary in California’s San Luis Coastal Unified School District, Miss Lamphier’s students collaborated in groups to create digital films as part of a unit on geometry. The process required team members to work cooperatively in order to write clear and accurate narrations about a specific geometry topic. Throughout the activity, students not only applied math skills, technology, and life skills, but also expanded their creative and critical-thinking capacities.
Mathematics is also a broad subject with deep historical roots and one that is applied everywhere in the world around us. It is a subject full of stories of people, invention, and intellectual curiosity. Digital stories about mathematics let students dig into that rich context in a way that makes the subject come alive.
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In Irving, Texas, at Austin Middle School, Ms. Williamson’s second-period math students made digital stories about mathematicians, math theorems, and important moments in math history.
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Mathematics is part of the world around us, especially in the realm of architecture. Fifth-graders at San Jose Elementary School in California made digital stories about their experiences studying with a professional architect, Todd Smith.
During the course of a residency during which Mr. Smith visited Mr. Gamarra’s class once a week, the architect introduced the students to the basics of architecture and took them on a field trip with other fifth-graders to the Walt Disney Concert Hall, a remarkable building designed by world-famous architect Frank Gehry. He also advised the students as they broke into small groups and created their own architectural models. At the end of the project, the models were included in a display for viewing by fourth-grade classes. To see their work, visit www.digitalartsalliance.org/peachpit/teachersguide.
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